Medical Concerns:

The knowledge and expertise of modern western medicine is a culmination of particular thought processes. In some aspects it is awe inspiring but we have to acknowledge there have never been so many sick people. The model of how health is approached is flawed. This page includes  3 sections:

1)  Emerging visions which are people involved in rethinking medicine.
2)  Concerns raised by members of the medical community-there are many professionals working in medicine 
     who recognize all is not well who are bringing forward their thoughts.
3)   Websites documenting medical issues-these are emerging as people become frustrated with the behavior 
     of much of mainstream medicine.

What is important is not to get stuck in thinking there is only one way of doing things.

Emerging Visions

I want to begin with some positive news. James Maskell who wrote The Evolution of Medicine has been holding discussions across the United States in 2019 concerning emerging visions of health care. In this podcast entitled The Love Diet: Healing Through Community he talks with Dr. Mark Hyman and Tawny Jones of the Cleveland Clinic. They are finding that group dynamics and the support of community is a significant part of health. This is a theme which I have seen emerging on a range of sites lately.

In 2018 I heard of a new movement Slow Medicine which was inspired by the idea of Slow Food. They issued a joint communique which captures the essence of their ideas. I feel the thoughts they are developing are worth while for all of us to consider.

When trying to decide whether you want to try a "natural" treatment it can be reassuring to find scientific research supporting the ideas. GreenMed Info :The Science of Natural Healing is a website which collects published research supporting natural treatments. Sayer Ji, the founder of this website, I discovered on online health summits. His thoughts and insights I immediately found intriguing and at the forefront of emerging themes.

Concerns Raised by Members of the Medical Community

In early 2019 a new organization was formed in Denmark entitled the Institute for Scientific Freedom. This was the result of one of the co founders of the Cochrane Collaboration,Dr. Peter Gotzche being expelled from their board of directors. The Cochrane Collaboration has been known as a respected reviewer of scientific literature. A meeting was held in Copenhagen drawing a number of scientists with concerns about scientific integrity. The Alliance for Natural Health International sent out an email  containing an overview of this event.

In the summer of 2017 I came across the work of a Dr. Mark Donohoe,an Australian physician with a focus on environment and nutrition. I found his thoughts interesting so went in search of an interview which showed him describing more of his views. This is a podcast which broadcast on "That Paleo Show". I find he succinctly describes many of the issues with western health care today; a lack of focus on understanding brought forward through understanding evolutionary concepts, a focus on disease instead of health and the lack of requirement for  responsibility and participation of the individual in their own health care. This 35 minute interview is well worth a listen.

While trying to understand better the vaccine issues in 2019 I explored the work of Dr. Suzanne Humphries, a former nephrologist who talks of why she eventually walked away from her job. In this statement she describes her experience. I add the statement to this page as it corresponds with my own experience dealing with the medical community. If I asked a question or said something which might put a professional out of step with their colleagues the conversation was shut down. The exception was sometimes specialists whose confidence and commitment to understanding the root of a problem I often find unique in the mainstream medical world.

 In 2013 an article was published in the New York Times  discussing the new DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders) which was at the time soon to be released. In this article Dr. Thomas Insel the director of the National Institute of Mental health in the U.S. discusses "wanting to reshape psychiatric research to focus on biology, genetics and neuroscience" and a desire to "define disorders by causes, rather than their symptoms". Later in the article he describes being "interested in a new paradigm for understanding mental disorders". At this point we can not be sure of where this will lead but it is the most hopeful statement I have seen from the established medical community.

Following on these ideas Dr. Caleb Gardner was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in Oct 2019 suggesting the practice of psychiatry needs a reboot. Dr. Gardner works at the Cambridge Health Alliance. In this 11 minute interview he discusses the"limitations of an increased focus on biologic knowledge in psychiatry". He claims the biologics became popular in the 1980's but the expanded understanding arising from neuroscience and cognitive techniques demand a new look at standard practices.

I follow newsletters from The Alliance for Natural Health Care. In April 2017 they published an article entitled "Should we still be worshiping at the alter of peer-reviewed science" which brings forward a growing body of concerns.

​Websites Documenting Medical Issues

The  website No Free Lunch  exposes some concerns over the relationship between the pharmaceutical companies and doctors. Although it is based in the U.S. the information could apply to most countries.

The website Mad in America; Science, Psychiatry and Community presents a broad range of concerns related to psychiatric treatment with contributors from around the world. Serious concerns are presented and progressive approaches are also there. Roger Whitaker began this as a webzine but it soon grew into a non profit organization. This speaks to the chord he and his crew are touching.